


Split

by Foxrox12



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Gen, Separate Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom, ghost catcher split, pitch pals - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:53:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23322754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxrox12/pseuds/Foxrox12
Summary: Maddie and Jack think their son has been possessed by Phantom. They use the Ghost Catcher to "save" him. Join Fun and Super as they struggle to become whole again.
Comments: 27
Kudos: 107





	1. Chapter 1

They hit him with something powerful. One of the Fenton bazooka's, maybe. Full blast. Danny had always managed to dodge out of their way.

Not this time.

He felt himself transform into his human half mid-fall. Heard his mother, shocked and confused, scream his name.

They softened the landing for him with the Fenton RV by attaching a hammock between it and a nearby building.

It was a relief that they saved him. But then they cuffed his arms and legs and put him in a ghost proof cage.

His dad leaned over him, tears in his eyes. "Don't worry, son. We'll get that evil ghost out of you." 

"Dad, I'm not possessed!" He wriggled around, trying to get a hand in his pocket despite the handcuffs.

When he pulled out his cellphone Mom reached through the bars and snatched it away.

"Shut up, ghost!" Mom said. "We saw you." 

Danny wished he'd had the chance to text Jazz to get her ready to intercept them on the way to the lab.

There was no way this ended without him stretched out on a lab table.

Dad shook his head, reading something on one of their scanners. "Reads like usual..." 

"He's dug in deep," Mom said. "Maybe he- Jack, how long has our equipment been reacting to Danny?" 

"Since the accident," Dad said, eyes wide.

Maybe it was a good thing, that they were connecting dots. Almost like Jazz had. It would make things easier to explain. 

_If_ he got the chance. 

Tears welled up and quickly spilled over as she put a hand over her mouth. "Oh Jack, you don't think...?"

"All this time," Dad said. "But he can't have-" 

"If you'd just let me explain," Danny said. "Mom-"

"Don't you call me that, ghost!" 

She sobbed and dad pulled her into a hug, burying her face in his chest. 

Okay, so they wouldn't listen to him. But maybe if it were coming from Jazz...

"Mads, what if he didn't know the ghost was in there?" Dad said. "We hit him hard, probably knocked Phantom out. At least for a bit." 

She gasped and lifted her head, staring back at the cage. "Partial possession? Is that possible?" 

"Where's Jazz?" Danny started. "If we could-"

"Shh, honey, hold on." Mom knelt in front of the cage. "If it's true, oh, I'm sure you're very confused." 

Danny swallowed, shifting around so he could sit up. He managed it, but he had to bend his head forward and hunch his shoulders. 

"Maybe that's why it's so much fainter than typical possession," Mom said, staring at him. "Honey, what do you remember?" 

Danny bit his lip. He knew he had to be careful. "I, um... I remember falling." 

Mom glared at him. "Don't you make a fool out of me, Phantom. Not with my son's face!" 

"Mom, please-"

"There's no way to know, Mads." Dad stared at Danny, then down at his scanner. "We have to decontaminate him." 

"We tried that after the accident, remember?" Mom said. "But we could never entirely get rid of the ectoplasmic residue."

Dad snapped his fingers. "What about the Fenton Ghost Catcher? I've been using it on the contaminated wieners. Gets 'em right back to normal!" 

She straightened. "What do you mean? It was meant to ward off ghosts while we sleep." 

"But then I tossed a weenie through." Dad grinned. "One of those nasty little ones that was always screaming." 

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Did it disintegrate?" 

"The ectoplasm melted," he shrugged. "And the rest was left as a normal weener." 

Danny's eyes widened and something in his expression made mom smile. "That's a good place to start." 

He'd gone through that Ghost Catcher before. It had messed with his personality, splitting traits between a ghost and human. 

"Wait!" Danny said, his eyes darting between the two in panic. "Wh-what if something goes wrong? Um, what if-" 

They threw a sheet over his cage and hauled him into the Fenton RV. 

"Guys, please just hear me out," Danny said. "There's a simpler explanation!" 

"I know you're in there Dan-o," Dad said. "Just hold on, we'll figure this out. We’ll get that no good Phantom punk out of ya son." 

And from then on it was like they didn't hear a word he said.

oOo

Dad reached through the bars of the cage and uncuffed him, while Mom grabbed the Fenton Ghost Catcher. She stood with it poised over them, waiting for something.

They’d started whispering to each other, which only made the whole thing more nerve wracking. Not that it wasn’t obvious what they were about to do. 

Danny could feel his ghost core pulsing within him, recuperating from the earlier bazooka blast. He could probably change back, but what good would it do him? He was still in the ghost proof cage. 

Dad stood back, holding a little remote, and abruptly the glow of the cage around Danny switched off. He blinked.

Before he could make a move Mom slammed the Ghost Catcher over him, cage and all, and Danny watched himself make a break for it.

His _ghost_ self. He phased out of the cage, heading for the ceiling. 

‘Course _he_ was still stuck in this stupid cage with his stupid human flesh, which felt over-heated now. 

“Oh no ya don’t!” Dad said. He sucked Phantom up in the Fenton vacuum cleaner. 

“Scoundrel!” Phantom shouted as he was sucked away. 

“Ugh, let me _out_ ,” Danny kicked at the cage. “I’m getting, like, leg cramps!” 

Mom threw the Ghost Catcher aside and knelt beside the cage, quickly unlocking the door and pulling him out. She squeezed him in a full body hug, rocking back and forth.

“Oh baby, it’s okay now,” she said. “Mommy’s got you.”

Danny didn’t know how long he could tolerate this. “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Can you let me up?”

Then Dad came and he lifted them both off the ground in a bear hug. “I knew it would work!”

Well, it did in a way. But now Phantom was squished into that stupid vacum cleaner. That wasn’t cool. 

Danny knew better than to say so, though.

“ _Guys_ ,” he whined. “Enough _hugging_.”

Dad set them both on their feet, but Mom wasn’t quite done yet. She dusted him off and put her hands on his shoulders, holding him at arm's length. “Honey, how are you feeling?”

 _Annoyed_ , he thought. “Everything’s fine,” Danny said. “Can we eat? I’m totally starving.” 

She beamed. “Yes, of course!” And she put her arm around his shoulder, leading him upstairs. “That must have been such a drain on you, honey.”

“The parasite!” Dad added. “Can’t wait to take it out and-”

Danny winced and Mom made a shushing noise. 

“We won’t be taking it out!” she said. “It’s safely contained right where it belongs.”

Maybe she thought Danny was afraid of Phantom. That was lame.

Dad pouted. “But I wanted to-”

“ _No_ , Jack,” Mom said. Then, softer, “Later…”

But Phantom wouldn’t be in that vacuum for long. Danny would beat them to it.

Still, he really _was_ starving. It wouldn’t hurt to eat dinner first. 

He shrugged his mother’s arms off of him though, he couldn’t stand all this _touching_ and _smiling_ as if he were some kind of baby. It was cringy and lame and he just wanted to grab a bowl of macaroni and take it to his room with him.

Mom didn’t let him do that, but she gave him fudge and his phone back. 

He had a bunch of texts from Tucker and while he answered them he thought about mentioning the Fenton Ghost Catcher thingy. He knew his friends would eventually be able to tell he wasn’t the real Danny.

He frowned, trying to remember how things had gone that last time he’d split like this.

It was annoying because he had double memories of that day. Stupid memories, from both halves. Ugh, the whole thing was so stupid. It made them so… stupid.

But maybe normal Danny was the stupid one and all three of them were stupid. 

Ugh, he just needed to let Phantom out of that vacuum. That’s all he needed to do. 

But his parents wouldn’t stop _watching_ him and while texting Tucker the dude called him _moody_ and then Sam was texting him too and it all got too annoying. He stopped replying. Scrolled through memes instead.

All this waiting was annoying.

His mom insisted on tucking him into bed like a freaking baby and it took all of his willpower not to start a fight with her. He wanted her to think things were good, things were fine. His parents needed to go to freaking bed already.

Then, after a half hour of sulking in the dark, he figured it would be safe to sneak into the basement.


	2. Chapter 2

He wasn’t too sure how long he remained cramped within the infernal vacuum, but one things for sure: it felt too long.

“Curses! How could I have allowed myself to be contained so quickly!” 

If he had the room, he would have kicked and punched the metal walls in an attempt to escape. Or at least annoy his captors,  _ his parents _ , his mind provided, enough that they would let him out of the Fenton Weasel. 

Phantom growled and glared straight ahead at one of the walls. His knees were pressed up close to his chest and his arms were at uncomfortable angles just to fit within the rectangular space. He was lucky he was a ghost with no need to breathe or the use of organs... or a solid bone structure. 

Phantom didn’t hold out much hope that his human half would come to assist him, but there was a good chance Jazz would eventually discover him. Still that would take too long. He saw his predicament as hopeless when he felt the pull of sweet release.

He hissed and put his arms up to shield his eyes from the bright fluorescence of the lab’s lights. Once his eyes adjusted he stretched out his extremities letting out a contented sigh at having all this space to move once more. He even took in a deep breath, ignoring how unnecessary it was.

Phantom looked down and spotted his human half looking up at him, the vacuum hose now lowered and his gaze reflecting boredom. Phantom touched down on the linoleum floor of the lab. He crossed his arms and leveled a look at his counterpart. 

“Dude what?” Fenton asked him. He carelessly tossed the vacuum to the side. 

Phantom winced at the loud clattering sound, concerned about the possible damage that could have done to the invention. Hopefully it didn’t sustain any. 

“Did you really have to do that?” Fenton’s answering shrug had him release a long suffering sigh at the lack of care and disrespect the other showed. Shaking his head he decided to push that issue aside for now. 

“What took you so long?" Phantom asked. "Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to be stuck in a tiny rectangular box?!” 

He realized, a bit too late, that he was shouting.

“Uh, yeah, of course I do," Fenton said. "Now why don’tcha shout a little fucking louder?! So the dudes upstairs can hear ya?” 

“Language!”

“English.”

Phantom took in one deep breath and held it. Ignoring the fact he no longer had lungs.  _ Calm _ , he repeated to himself over and over in his mind. It wouldn’t do to lose his cool with Fenton. He ignored the smirk on the other’s face, despite how much it irritated him to see it. 

Phantom looked around the lab and spotted the Ghost Catcher standing innocently towards the back, its soft glow drawing his attention. Then he looked back at Fenton who was on his,  _ their _ , phone now. His eyes were glued to the screen. 

“I think it would be best for us to merge back as soon as humanly possible!” he declared.

“Ya think?” Fenton snarked. 

Phantom reached over and snatched the phone from his hand, ignoring the indignant ‘Hey!’ from his human half. When Fenton reached for the phone he moved back and raised the phone higher away from Fenton’s reach. Fenton crossed his arms in front of him and glared. He stuck the phone down the neck part of his jumpsuit. It was uncomfortable. About to pull it back out he didn’t count on it slipping further down. Fenton wrinkled his face.

“Dude…”

“We must not delay.” Phantom said to move on from the phone. It kept slipping down to his stomach. 

“Whatever,” came the mumbled reply.

Phantom floated off the ground and moved behind Fenton to lift the other up under the arms and hold him close to himself. Fenton squirmed a little in his grasp muttering something about the ‘fucking cold’. 

Phantom nearly made it to the Ghost Catcher when the door leading down to the lab was thrown open. Down charged their parents, furious. 

He could only imagine how this looked to them. A ghost-, and not just any ghost, it was him Danny Phantom-, holding their human son would draw bad conclusions. 

“UNHAND OUR SON GHOST SCUM.” They began firing their weapons.

Phantom gasped, concerned for Fenton, he dropped him as close to the ground as he could manage.  _ Humans are fragile _ , he thought. 

Then he zipped out of the way of ectobullets, dodging them all. He heard Fenton let out a string of cursing, and had to resist the urge to turn around and tell him to watch his language. Their parents were right there!

“How in the world did he get out?” Maddie asked Jack. 

Phantom yelped as one shot connected and hit him in the chest. He hit the wall hard and slid down it and onto a table, landing on top of various unfinished weapons. 

“Quick Jack! We need to capture him again!”

Shaking off the attack, he floated back up and looked at his parents. Maddie now stood in front of Fenton, blocking him from view. Doubtless, she thought she was protecting him. 

There was no possible way he could get anywhere near Fenton  _ now _ without risking injury. Jack was running over towards another table that had more devices, those finished. 

Phantom ducked as another round of blasts came towards him. All he could do was dodge, not wanting to injure any of the humans. Things were not looking good for him. 

There was only one thing to do. He had to leave and hopefully come back when their parents weren’t in the way so that he and Fenton could merge back together.

Before Jack could activate a cube he held in his hand Phantom fazed out of the lab through the ceiling. Maddie and Jack’s shouts following behind him. He intangibly flew through the house until he was up in the night sky.

And not a second too soon, it seemed. The ghost shield went up before his eyes.

“Now that will make things difficult,” Phantom mused. 

He didn’t linger for much longer, taking off in a random direction. He just needed to put space between himself and his home. He could only hope that Fenton could handle their parents without him. 

In the meantime…

“This situation may not be ideal, but there are still ghosts out there that need to be stopped. A job that is suitable for Danny Phantom!” 

Phantom struck a heroic pose and held it for a minute. Sadly, it didn’t feel as heroic as it should without his cape fluttering behind him...

His ghost sense went off , as if The Fates agreed with his heroic intentions. 

Now, to spot the sinister specter... 

Phantom flew higher and glanced around.

“Found you!” he shot down towards the villain, ready for a fight. 


	3. Chapter 3

He couldn't breath.

This is how he would die.

Smothered by his father's ridiculous arms.

"That ghost boy has always been a slippery one," Dad said. "But he's never escaped this fast before." 

_ Maybe dying wouldn't be so bad _ , Danny thought. He might get his powers back.

He giggled at the thought.  _ Two  _ full ghost, ghost boys. 

"Jack…" Mom pried Danny free and stared at him with a stern frown. "The ghost boy didn't escape." 

"What?" Dad said. 

"Danny." Mom put her hands on her hips.

Oh boy.

"Did you let it out of the Fenton Weasel?" 

Dad chuckled and shook his head. "Mads-"

Danny glared at his shoes. "So what?" He muttered. 

"What was that?" She said.

Defiantly, he lifted his chin. "So. What." 

Mom's eyes widened. Now she crossed her arms together, glaring at him. "Daniel Fenton!"

"What? Jeez, yes, arrest me! What do you want?" 

Dad was still shaking his head, but he was no longer laughing. 

"That  _ ghost _ ." She jabbed an accusatory finger at the ceiling. "Th-that  _ monster _ -"

"Fucking stupid," Danny muttered.

"Wh-what?!" Mom blustered. "You can't talk to us like that!" 

Dad grabbed both their arms and started hauling them toward the back of the lab. "Maybe he's still infected," he said. "Let's use the Ghost Catcher again." 

Danny laughed. "Dude, there's not a drop of ectoplasm left in me." 

"Danny  _ why-"  _ Mom started. 

"There's no point in explaining anything to you people," Danny said. "Ugh, I hate this. It's so  _ heavy. _ " 

" _ What _ is heavy?" Mom said. She watched, tears in her eyes, as dad passed the Ghost Catcher over his head once again.

Danny didn't bother to dodge or anything.

There really wasn't a drop left. 

And he felt like the ground was pulling him down. 

Gravity, dumbass. 

He sat down and put his head in his hands.

"Jack stop!" 

Dad had flipped the Catcher around and passed it over Danny's head a second time before Danny sat down. Maybe he was going to try a third time.

There was a pause where Danny could feel them staring at him. He groaned. 

They both rushed at him again and he screamed, "Stop hugging me! Shit! Get off!" 

They were both so heavy and he was  _ trapped. _ He couldn't walk through, he couldn't fly  _ out. _

His mother was openly crying now. "Baby, why…" 

He couldn't breath. No, no, no. He  _ was _ breathing.

He was breathing too much. Too fast.

Danny gasped, "Wh-where's Jazz?"

They seemed startled by the subject change. "Um, she…" 

They were both sitting way too close and when Mom put a hand on his shoulder he curled up into a fetal position, tucking his body in to be as small as possible.

He felt her hand, but she removed it.

He kept his eyes closed and didn't say another word. 

He heard them step away. Whispering. 

Then a phone call with Jazz. They tried to explain the emergency.

Slowly, Danny uncurled from his position and stood. 

He felt like an astronaut adjusting from zero gravity orbit, but he sprinted for the stairs anyway.

Tripped halfway up.

His parents were shouting, god could they stop with the shouting?! 

He ended up crawling up the stairs and landing sprawled on his stomach in the kitchen.

His mother helped him up with a hand at his elbow. She wasn't hugging him this time, so he let her keep the hand there. 

"Danny, please," Mom said. She spoke softly, like she was speaking to a spooked animal. "Sit down for a minute." 

She guided him to a chair at the table.

He was still breathing way too fast. 

"Th-this didn't," he was panting. "Happen. L-last time." 

What the fuck was wrong with him?

Mom sat next to him and tentatively put a hand on his head. Gently petting him. "Just breath, honey."

"Try to breath slowly," she added.

Dad was still standing. On the phone with Jazz. 

_ "Am I on speaker? Dad? Danny?"  _ It was Jazz.  _ "Danny, I'm already on the road. I'm on my way. _ " 

Stupidly, Danny nodded. 

_ "Dad did you put me on speaker? Hello?" _

"He nodded," Dad said. "But he's still breathing funny." 

Danny groaned and slammed his head on the table. 

_ "It could be a panic attack,"  _ Jazz said.  _ "Guys, please tell me you weren't using any gadgets on him."  _

"He was possessed!" Mom said. "We got the ghost out of him." 

_ "Dammit, don't do anything else!" _ Jazz said.  _ "I'm almost there." _

She hung up.

"Language," Danny murmured.

Then he started laughing like a maniac. 

His parents just stared at him. 

But he grinned. He was breathing just fine now. He could picture Phantom flying around town like a hyper little helper bee. Looking for ghosts to fight, for people to help. 

Danny wondered if he was wearing a bed sheet. He didn't get the chance to take one from their room did he? 

Then Danny checked his pockets and scowled, laughter dying away. 

Phantom still had his phone. Ugh, what was he supposed to  _ do  _ now? 

"What day is it?" Danny said. 

"It's Friday," Mom said. "Danny, now that you've calmed down…" 

Friday. That's great, he thought, I'll see a movie. I'll go to Tucker's house and tell him Fun Danny is back. 

Maybe just enjoy a chill weekend. Fix this mess later.

He could feel himself relaxing. 

Dad put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Listen to your mother," he said.

"Wow," Danny said. "You almost sounded stern, dude. Good job." 

Dad blinked. 

Mom moved her chair closer and really leaned into his face now. "You need to  _ listen. _ Ghosts are not like animals. You can't play with them like a puppy you found on the sidewalk." 

"Phantom looks like a puppy to you?" Danny said. "Thought he was a monster." 

With some desperation, she grabbed his hands and held them cradled in her own. "They  _ are _ ," she said. "They're created in violent deaths."

"You guys have violent  _ lives _ ," Danny muttered, rolling his eyes.

"What was that?" Mom said, glaring at him.

He shrugged.

She and dad shared a look.

"You're grounded," Dad announced. 

Danny looked up at him in surprise. With them sitting and dad still standing, he was a giant. He was frowning his best  _ serious thinking  _ kind of frown. 

"You're not serious," Danny said. "That's-"

"It's a great idea," Mom pipped in, cutting him off. "We put up the ghost shield. You'll be safer if you stay inside."

_ "What?" _

"You can't go out until we catch that ghost," Dad said. 

"Yes, he seems to have latched onto you," Mom said. "In a parasitic way that we've never seen before. It could be more dangerous than a typical possession. If he catches you again-"

"Guys," Danny said. "It's  _ the weekend _ ." 

Mom clasped her hands together. "It's perfect timing. If we catch him before Monday you'll be able to go to school." 

Danny stood. "Nah, nah. You aren't putting me on freaking house arrest." 

Again he was aware of how heavy his body was. How  _ solid.  _

How easily he could be trapped. He eyed the door. 

When he made a break for it Dad was ready. He blocked the door. "C'mon kiddo. We're just trying to fix this." 

"I didn't need fixing! You guys are the ones who broke me!" 

What would OG Danny do right now, he wondered, if he were wearing a power canceling belt and was stuck without powers? 

Dad wouldn't budge from the door. 

"Ugh, I hate you," Danny said. 

Dad looked like he'd just been slapped. 

OG Danny never would have said that. Dammit.

But he didn't know how to fix it. Didn't know how to act… like himself. 

He turned away from the door and headed for his bedroom. 

"Sweetie," Mom said. "You didn't mean that. Jack, he didn't…” 

Lazily, he walked up the stairs to the second floor, feet dragging like they had led weights at the ankles. Gravity shackled him to earth.

"Nah, I hate you both," he added, decidedly. 

But did he  _ really _ ? He wasn't sure. 

Mom followed him to his bedroom. "Danny, honey, you don't know ghosts like we do." 

"You're wrong," he said. "You have no idea what I know."

Then he slammed his bedroom door in her face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Kris here! I worked on this chapter so enjoy the read!

The night was spent well in stopping ghosts from reeking havoc amongst the town. The citizens of Amity Park rested well with him, their ever vigilant protector, watching out for them. Things hadn’t gone smoothly at the start of his ghost fighting when he realized that he failed to grab the thermos on his way out. Luckily he recalled that they kept one stored in their locker at school. Thank the stars for their preparedness! 

With the morning sun now much higher and its warmth at his back he supposed it would do well to check and see if the ghost shield was still up. Now that the ghost attacks have taken a pause he is free to do so. On his flight back towards home he waved down at his admirers flashing them a dazzling smile. His smile waned when he came upon his home and saw the green dome of the ghost shield still in place. Phantom huffed and crossed his arms glowering at the shield. 

“How in the world will I be able to get in if they keep the ghost shield up?” 

His thinking was interrupted by a buzzing and a tickling sensation coming from his stomach. He stifled his laughter and intangibly reached into his hazmat suit Phantom held the cause of the vibration, their phone. Phantom had forgotten about the device. He could just picture his human half throwing a conniption over not having it. The phone lit up with text notifications from Sam, Tucker and recently a few from Jazz.

Wow he really had a lot of them...how rude of him to not have noticed!

Phantom punched in the passcode and unlocked the phone. He read through all the texts, starting from where Fenton had left off. It would seem his human half caused quite the alarm to their friends. Phantom shook his head and tutted at his human half. Fenton really needs a stern talking to. Not bothering with texting back he just called Sam. Phantom thought texting ruined the effect of talking, especially since the one he was speaking to didn’t get the full extent of his words. 

Phantom lazily floated away from his neighborhood as he waited for Sam to pick up. He frowned impatiently at the second ring. She should know how rude it is to keep people waiting. Finally she picked up.

“Danny why the hell are you calling me? We text for a reason you know.”

“Sam, that's no way to speak to someone on the phone! You should answer with a more pleasant attitude and a hearty hello!”

There was silence. Phantom frowned and moved the phone away from his ear to make sure he hadn’t hung up, or that Sam had, by accident. The call was still going.

“Sam?” 

“Yeah?” the word was drawn out.

“Why the silence?”

“I’m just trying to figure out who I’m talking to right now.”

“Why me of course! Danny Phantom! Sworn protector of Amity park! Defender of the weak an-”

“OKAY ENOUGH I GET IT!”

He closed his mouth with a click.

“Jeeze, when did you split yourself again? This sorta explains how weird you were when we texted you last night then.”

“I didn’t do so of my own volition. Our parents had caught us with some weapon of theirs and unfortunately we changed right before their eyes and they decided that we were possessed and used the Ghost Catcher to separate Fenton and I.”

He could hear Sam hiss and let loose a slew of swears. 

“Hey! Language!”

“English”

That's where Fenton gets it from. Maybe he should have a few words with her.

“So this is a shit situation then...Your parents know the truth, sorta, and now you and fun Danny are split again. Where is fun Danny?”

“He’s at our home being kept inside with the ghost shields up. I have no way of getting inside.”

“Alright listen, we’ll meet you at the park. I’ll text Tucker right now about the situation. Just get your ass at our usual meeting spot.”

“Must you curse? Such language is unbecoming.”

“Yes I must fucking curse now bye.”

Phantom looked down at the phone with a frown. Someone was grumpy. With nowhere else to put the phone he let it slide back down his suit. They should really consider adding some pockets….or a utility belt! All the great ones have a utility belt! He can already imagine all the gadgets he could carry with him. Changing his trajectory he headed in the direction of the park.


	5. Chapter 5

Danny could hear them talking about him. Though he couldn't catch every word and had to resort to crouching down on the floor with his ear tilted towards the crack in the door. 

_ Phantom could just invisibly saunter into the room with them _ , he thought.  _ Or I guess he can't cause of the shield… OG Danny could've gotten past that  _ then  _ gone invisible?  _

Somehow he resented both alternate versions of himself. They both had more to work with. 

"... lucky it's the weekend," Jazz was saying. "I'll tell my roommate I drove down for a visit…" 

They kept moving around while they talked. Moving in and out of earshot. It was driving him crazy! 

"... already late but… and look for-" Mom had the quietest voice of all of them. 

"No, no, you should wait until tomorrow." Jazz said. "And I'll talk to him about…" 

Should he just go down there? What was he doing sulking in his room? He wanted to stomp down the stairs and-

_ And what, you drama queen?  _ Danny thought.  _ Yell " _ I hate you"  _ again like some ten year old?  _

He was already mortified by his own words not ten minutes after lashing out at his parents. It was the most childish thing he had ever said!

_ Jazz would say I'm regressing or something _ . 

Or maybe he was just over analyzing his own personality because he was paranoid about the differences. It hadn't seemed like such a big deal the first time he'd split…

But  _ after  _ the split, when he had two sets of memories to compare and contrast, the whole thing had felt freaky. 

Especially with how fascinated Jazz was by the situation.  _ "It was kind of like you disassociated, but simultaneously! _ " She had said.  _ "It's amazing to think of what lays hidden in our subconscious! That heroic spirit, do you think he was a manifestation of your ideal self? A role model?"  _

Would that make "Fun" Danny the real him or the Hyde to Super's Jekyll? The side that just gives in to whims and fucks with shit? 

"Danny? You're still awake aren't you?" Jazz opened the door and Danny scrambled up off the floor, nearly getting smacked in the face with it. 

"Jeez! Can't you knock or something?" He shoved his hands into his pockets, slouching towards his bed. 

Then he straightened his back and pulled his hands out. Did OG Danny have good posture? 

It was difficult to remember. 

"Danny-"

"He took my phone," Danny said. 

For some reason he couldn't look at her, so he kept his eyes on his hands as he triedlto decide what to  _ do  _ with them. 

"He… you mean, uh," Jazz lowered her voice to a whisper. "Phantom?" 

"No, Santa," Danny said. "Said he thought I owed  _ him  _ a gift for once." 

That got a startled laugh out of her. In return Danny felt a lazy grin forming on his own face and he tried to just  _ relax  _ and let it happen. 

He flopped onto his bed haphazardly and propped his legs up against the wall, looking up at Jazz upside down, he waggled his eyebrows at her. "I thought that was fair at first, but I changed my mind. I can't live without Candy Crush." 

Jazz huffed at him and put her hands on her hips. It was the exact same stern demeanor Mom had tried to pull earlier. "Danny! C'mon, this is serious." 

"I know, dude! You gotta go rescue my phone," Danny said. "I'd do it myself, but apparently I'm grounded? And I can't just fly out the window like usual." 

He pulled himself upright and pouted at her. "So I'm stuck here  _ and  _ without a phone. Isn't that, like, cruel?" 

She sat down on the bed and squinted at him. "Danny…" 

"What?" 

"You had a panic attack," she said. "Don't you think we should talk about that?" 

He shook his head. "It wasn't-"

"Don't try and tell me you weren't hyperventilating." 

"Ugh,  _ fine _ , I did! Whatever," he turned away from her. "Let's analyze that later, I'm done introspecting for the year." 

She hummed. "You saying you've been more introspective than usual?" 

_ "Jazz."  _

She ruffled his hair. "Alright, alright. It's late, I'll let you off the hook. But you feel okay now, right? Nothing's wrong?" 

He rolled his eyes. "Aside from the obvious  _ half of me  _ missing?"

"Aside from that, yes." 

"Nothing's wrong," he huffed. 

"Okay, good," she stood and stretched. "So I'll be staying for the weekend, obviously." 

"Obviously," he echoed. 

"They want me to babysit you while they look for Phantom." 

"Ugh," he punched a pillow. "We can't just let them-"

"I know, I know," Jazz took the pillow from him and patted it back into place. "We'll need to figure something out. But on the bright side while they're  _ out  _ we can also go looking for Phantom." 

He pretended to gasp. "You mean you aren't going to enforce my grounding?! Dude, that's criminal." 

She waved this off. "Maybe we can beat them home somehow. If not we'll just say you sneaked out and oh darn, I did my best." 

"You think we could beat them to Phantom  _ and  _ beat them home?" 

Nothing was ever that easy. 

"Let's be positive, shall we?" Jazz made a show of yawning and headed for the door. "Now get some sleep! Seems we'll have a busy day tomorrow." 

"Goodnight, Jazz." 

"Night, little brother." 

But sleep wouldn't come so easily.


End file.
